Packaging of tablets



July 7, 1942. c. s. BEARD'SLEY 2,288,674

' PACKAGING oF TABLETS Filed Jan. 21, 194;

By MMM/4m Wim Patented July 7, 1942 unir-Etos'rsrgis Parent oF'FiCE PACKAGING OF TABLETS Charles S. Beardsley, Elkhart, Ind.

Applieai'fion` January 21, 1941, Serial: No.` 375,149

(Cl. 206l-42) 1 Claim.

A further object ofi my' invention i's1 toprovide' for removing the tablf-:t'sl only enel at afti'me at the will of the user" while the remaining tablets Vare prevented from escaping.

Still another object offlmy invention isf to space the tablets in their container so that they are ordinarily out of contact engagement with each other.

Other objects of my invention will, in part, be apparent and in part appear hereinafter.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of .my invention, reference can be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of my invention, showing how the tablets may be ejected, one by one, on application of suitable pressure by the thumb of the user;

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the envelope, shown in Figure 1 inside of the rigid box, as it appears before it is inserted in the box;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view, similar to that shown in Figure 3, and illustrates a somewhat different form of envelope;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of another form of envelope in which the upper wall is formed by transparent material and the lower wall is provided wth means for spacing the tablets apart; and

Figure 6 is a detail sectionalview, taken along the line 6 6 of Figure 5, showing a portion of the envelope in section and another portion in elevation.

Referring now particularly to Figure 1 of the drawing, it will be observed that the reference character IIJ designates, generally, a conventional form of Ybox which is usually for-med of metal and comprises a lower portion II having a rigid bottom` and rigidi side-V walls, and a cover or lidik I2 having a rigidV top and rigid side walls. The cover I2 may be hinged, as indicated at'v |13, tothe lower portion Il?, or it may be separable therefrom, as will be readily understood.

It is now common practice todispense tablets, such as vitamin containing tablets, aspirin tablets, etc., in small metal boxes for individual-use. The tablets are placed loosely in the box and, asis often the case, when the cover is opened in order to obtain one or` two of the tablets, the entire contents, or'a considerableI portion thereof, may be spilled. resulting from the sudden opening of the'box. If this is not to' occur,.then considerable care mustY be exercised in opening the boxsoas: to prevent lossof any of its contents.

With a` view' to overcoming this.V difliculty, I have provided an envelope, shown generally at I4,`.which isselfLcontained and which. conforms to the shape of the box IIJ, in this case the box I0 is rectangular as illustrated, and which contains the tablets I5 that would otherwise be loosely disposed in the lower portion II of the box I0. By providing the envelope I4, there is little likelihood that any of the tablets I5 will be spilled out even when the box IIJ is suddenly opened, and possibly even dropped after being opened. t

As shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing, the envelope I4 has an upper side wall I6 and a lower side wall I'I, which initially may lbe formed by two separate pieces that are Y suitably `secured together along their edges or formed by a single piece suitably folded and secured to form the envelope.

After some of the tablets I5 have been removed, there is a, tendency for those which remain to rattle when the box I0 is moved. In order to reduce this noise, one or both of the side walls I6 and I'I can be formed of relatively soft material, such as paper, which serves to deaden the sound and, by conforming generally to the space occupied by the remaining tablets, it serves to hold them in somewhat confined relation.

It is desirable to provide for ready inspection of the contents of the envelope I4 so that the user can determine at a glance the number of tablets which remain. Forthis purpose a portion I8 of the upper side wall I6 is formed of transparent material, such as wax paper, so that the lower portion, at least, of the envelope I4 can be inspected readily. If desired, the entire upper side wall IB could be formed of transparent material.

Ordinarily, the user desires to remove from the box I only one of the tablets I 5. With this in mind I have provided means which permits the tablets I to be removed from the envelope I4 only one at a time. As shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, one corner of the envelope I4 is cut away so as to provide an aperture which is slightly larger than that required to permit movement of the tablets, one at a time, into or out of the envelope I4. As shown, the envelope I4 can be cut along the line indicated at I9 to provide the necessary opening. Then, by the application of a slight pressure just back of the line I9, for instance by the user applying by his thumb 20 a downward pressure on the upper side wall I6, the tablets I5 can be ejected through the aperture only one at a time. Instead of using his thumb, the user can apply the pressure by any other suitable means such as by using a nail le, a pencil, etc.

The capacity of the envelope I4 for holding the tablets I5 can be increased by using the con.- struction shown in Figure 4 of the drawing. As there illustrated, the upper and lower side walls I6 and I'I' are joined about their edges so as to provide the rectangular construction indicated at 2 I.

In Figures 5 and 6 of the drawing, there is illustrated, generally, at 22 another form of envelope that can be used for holding the tablets I5, and which can be used in the box I0 in lieu of the envelope I4, previously described. The envelope 22 comprises an upper side wall 23 and a lower side wall 24. In this embodiment, the upper side wall 23 is formed entirely of transparent material so that all of the tablets I5 within the envelope 22 are visible. The upper side wall 23 can be formed of wax paper, as previously described.

The lower side wall 24 is preferably formed of somewhat more rigid material, such as cardboard, which can be deformed t0 provide the projections or protuberances 25 extending upwardly therefrom. The projections 25 are so spaced in accordance with the diameter of the tablets I5 that the tablets are held in the spaced relation gen'erally as shown in Figure 5 of the drawing.

The tablets I5 can be readily removed from the envelope 22 in the manner described hereinbefore for the removal of the tablets from the envelope I4. After the rst tablet has been removed'through the aperture 26 at one corner, additional tablets can be placed in position to be ejected by slightly shaking the box with the aperture 26 in the lowermost position.

Since certain further changes can be made in the foregoing constructions, and different embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter shown in the accompanying drawing and described hereinbefore shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

A package comprising, a rigid shallow rectangular open top box, an envelope within said box conforming generally to its shape and size and having the upper side wall formed of relatively flexible material, and a single layer of tablets in said envelope, said envelope being closed on all sides and having one corner cut away suiliciently to dispense one tablet at a time by holding the box in the hand and using the thumb to depress the iiexible upper side wall portion adjacent said one corner toward the bottom of said box to eject one tablet while at the same time preventing escape of any of the tablets remaining in said envelope.

CHARLES S. BEARDSLEY. 

